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Tag Archives: Hall of Fame

The Seton Hall Sports Poll was featured in Baseball America, Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Entertainment and ESPN after the poll addressed a variety of issues in Major League Baseball— including the institution of protective netting to shield fans from foul balls, the use of a computer to call balls and strikes instead of an umpire, expansion of MLB to include more teams and whether or not baseball players who have been found to have used PEDs should be banned from admission into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

B.J. Schecter, who came to Seton Hall in August as part of the Professionals-in-Residence Program in the College of Communication and the Arts, is Baseball America’s editor and publisher. Schecter, a veteran journalist who spent 20 years at Sports Illustrated (most recently as its executive editor) was appointed to develop a collaborative and uniquely interdisciplinary Sports Media program at Seton Hall, and to that end is working with the Stillman School of Business‘ Center for Sport Management as well as the Sports Poll. A number of the poll questions featured in this special issue of Baseball America were inspired by students in Schecter’s Intro to Sports Media class.

“This issue of Baseball America, featuring a unique partnership with the Seton Hall Sports Poll, is one of the first steps in forging a multi-media, interdisciplinary program that will bring students to the forefront of how sports media works in the 21st century,” said Schecter. “As we bring in additional resources through WSOU, our award-winning radio station, and the Pirate Sports Network, students will have expanded opportunities to engage in professional-level sports media work at Seton Hall.”

Rick Gentile, director of the Seton Hall Sports Poll and former Executive Producer and Senior Vice President of CBS Sports, agreed. “In addition to Baseball America, the Sports Poll is regularly featured in top media outlets such as The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, AP, Reuters, Forbes, ESPN and Bleacher Report to name just a few,” he said. “Our students have the opportunity to be a part of that, and these opportunities are growing now as the new Sports Media program takes hold. It’s a win-win for Seton Hall, and students especially.”

In addition to the special feature “State of the Game,” Sports Poll findings also appeared in an article in the most recent edition of Baseball America, “Drive For Netting Continues Across Baseball,” that discusses the support among baseball fans for protective netting in baseball stadiums to shield spectators from foul balls.

Orange, NJ, December 12, 2017 — By a margin of 49% – 35%, Americans have said “no” to the inclusion of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The two have not yet been elected by the Baseball Writers, who are voting now for the 2018 inductees. Both seemingly had Hall of Fame credentials even before their linkage to performance enhancing drugs.

The poll also showed Americans agreeing with Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, who sent a letter to voters saying players named as PED users should not be elected. 62% supported Morgan’s position, with only 26% opposing.

“Bonds and Clemens are not the only reported PED users who would likely have gained election,” said Poll Director Rick Gentile. “But they represent the top of the list of players under consideration who were scarred by the drug use. Support for their inclusion just isn’t there.”

The poll was taken November 27-29 across the nation, on both landlines and cell phones, with randomly placed telephone calls. The poll is sponsored by The Sharkey Institute. There were 719 respondents, with a margin of error of +/- 3.7%.

ABOUT SETON HALL UNIVERSITY

One of the country’s leading Catholic universities, Seton Hall University has been a catalyst for leadership — developing students in mind, heart and spirit — since 1856. Home to nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students and offering more than 90 academic programs, Seton Hall’s academic excellence has been singled out for distinction by The Princeton Review, U.S.News & World Report and Bloomberg Businessweek.

Seton Hall, which embraces students of all religions, prepares its graduates to be exemplary servant leaders and global citizens. Its attractive main campus is located in suburban South Orange, New Jersey, and is only 14 miles by train, bus or car from New York City, offering a wealth of employment, internship, cultural and entertainment opportunities. The university’s nationally recognized School of Law is prominently located in downtown Newark.

For more information, visit www.shu.edu.

About the poll:

This poll was conducted by telephone November 27-29 among 719 adults in the United States. The Seton Hall Sports Poll is conducted by the Sharkey Institute.

Phone numbers were dialed from random samples of both standard landline and cell phones. The landlines were called Seton Hall’s Poling Center at the Stillman School of Business and cell phones from Braun Research Incorporated. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Morgan recommended that players with a history of performance enhancing drug use during their playing careers should not be voted into the Hall of Fame. Do you agree or disagree with his recommendation?

Agree 62%

Disagree 26

Don’t know/No opinion 12

Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were players with Hall of Fame caliber careers before they allegedly began using performance enhancing drugs. Do you think they should be elected to the Hall of Fame?

The Seton Hall Sports Poll is sponsored by The Sharkey Institute, brought to you by The Stillman School of Business, and directed by Rick Gentile – a faculty member at Seton Hall University and 10 time Emmy Award winner for his work as Executive Producer and Senior Vice President of CBS Sports.